💰 $250M+ poured into gaming last 3 weeks, here’s where the money went

Covering gaming startup funding, AI game studios, investments, partnerships [last 3 weeks in August] 364#

Hey Friends, Greetings from Bangalore 💗

Here’s your curated look at the last 3 week’s top deals in gaming, Top Funding & M&A Headlines.

Funding Rounds

1. Appcharge raises $58M to scale direct-to-consumer payment solutions

2. Lumikai closes $50M Fund II to back India’s interactive media sector

3. Shrapnel raises $19.5M ahead of global Web3 shooter launch

4. WeMade invests $7.2M in new console company Studio Rasa

5. Fateless secures $8M, plus an additional $14M community-driven round, to power Godforge

6. Impact46 invests $6.7M across five Saudi game studios

7. XD Inc. acquires a 5.3% stake in MiAO for $14M

8. Qloud Games secures $5M seed funding

9. Fahy Studios raises $1.75M to scale mobile game production

10. Starvania Studios raises $1.1M to fuel growth ambitions

11. DaFluffs Games raises $300K for debut title Dungeon Blast

12. Sheba Joy raises $293K pre-seed, scaling operations from Saudi Arabia

13. FitNot Games secures $300K for culturally inspired titles

14. Superbullet Studios secures $300K to expand Roblox development

15. Copa Fantasy raises $300K to scale its football gaming platform in MENA

Ecosystem Funds & Platforms

1. Exel by Merak invests $300K each into 17 gaming startups (~$5.1M total)

2. Blue Ocean Games launches Rising Tide 2 to fund indie developers

3. Spoilz raises fresh capital to expand live ops capabilities

4. Arcanix secures funding to accelerate live ops platform growth

5. Almedia acquires cashback firm Zave.it to strengthen rewarded play platform

New Studios & Publisher Moves

1. RedOctaneGames launches, founded by veterans of Guitar Hero and DJ Hero

2. Pixel United veterans launch Plan A Games to invest in casual, midcore, and social casino

3. Instinct3 (influencer agency) opens a new publishing arm

4. Palladio AI secures funding from Griffin Gaming Partners to build AI-powered dev tools

5. Tilki raises $2.2M for AI game creation

Acquisitions & M&A

1. Duolingo acquires NextBeat, coinciding with RedOctane’s return

2. Blackbird acquires Hardspace: Shipbreaker IP

3. Evo secures investment from Nodwin Gaming as Sony steps back

   
   

Top Trends:
» India bans real-money gambling games
» 357,000 visitors attended Gamescom 2025
» US hardware revenue reaches $384m driven by Switch 2 sales
» Roblox open-sources Sentinel AI to detect harmful chat messages
» Yalla Group crosses $1.23B valuation, joining the Arab unicorn club
» Discord launches social SDK for in-game voice and messaging integration
» Vietnam officially surpasses China to become the world’s top exporter of mobile games
» Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Unity to boost opportunities for Saudi games developers
» India launches Game Publishers and Developers Association to drive its gaming and esports ambitions
» Atari acquires five Ubisoft Games — Cold Fear, I Am Alive, Child of Eden, Grow Home, and its sequel, Grow Up.

Specultation: AppsFlyer in advanced talks to be acquired at over $3.5 billion valuation

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P


PS my post on Gamescom event